Former Alabama player Ozell Powell shot and killed

Former University of Alabama defensive lineman Ozell Powell was shot and killed in his hometown of Greenville on Wednesday night.

By D.C. ReevesSports Writer

Former University of Alabama defensive lineman Ozell Powell was shot and killed in his hometown of Greenville on Wednesday night.The Greenville Police Department responded to the Creekstone apartment complex in Greenville at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in reference to a call about a gunshot victim. Authorities found Powell, 40, with two gunshot wounds to the chest. He was pronounced dead on arrival at L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital early Thursday morning.GPD investigators arrested one suspect, 22-year-old Eric Simmons, at 1 a.m. Thursday morning. He has been charged with murder and is being held in the Butler County Correctional Facility. Greenville police are still seeking one other person of interest.Powell played at Alabama from 1993-96, starting 25 games. He totaled 67 tackles and four sacks including a career-best 29 tackles his senior season in 1996. He intercepted a pass against Florida in the 1996 SEC Championship Game. Teammates remember Powell as a fierce competitor on the field and an infinite source of comic relief off it.“When I found out this morning, the first thing, after initial shock of hearing what happened, is seeing that big ol' smile on his face,” said former UA center and 1996 team captain John Causey. Causey and Powell, who grew up about 20 miles apart, came to Tuscaloosa in the same recruiting class in 1993. “Even during practice, he smiled. And what a competitor, just a generally good guy. Not just a great football player but a good person.”Former UA safety Eric Turner, who teamed with Powell in 1993 and '94, spoke with Powell on the phone within the last two weeks. Powell seemed happy, Turner said.“Ozell was always just one of those guys where it didn't matter how serious the situation was, he always found a way to make people feel comfortable and sort of lighten up the mood whatever it was,” Turner said. “Before a game, before practice, whenever, he was always the guy making people laugh, making people feel comfortable.“He said everything was well with him. He was a really good guy, one of the good ones. Many great, great memories.”Another former teammate echoed the same sentiments.“A gentle giant. He was always on the quiet side, laughed a lot. He seemed like a good person, had a little country flair to him. He had no issues, always a good attitude, smiling and laughing,” said Thad Turnipseed, director of recruiting and external affairs at Clemson, who was a linebacker on the 1993 UA team.“That's awful,” former UA defensive coordinator Bill Oliver said of the news Thursday. “The only thing I know is all those guys way back then in the 1990s, they were just all special. He was not a great, great player, but he sort of fit in there with those average players that we got a lot out of them.”Randy Ross, who was Alabama's recruiting coordinator during Powell's playing days and is now director of football operations at SMU, “That's a tragedy,” Ross said. “Knew him real well, just a great young man. He came in, big ol' defensive lineman, always happy and fun to be around. He seemed like he enjoyed every day. I did spent a lot of time with him when he was being recruited. He was one of those guys everybody always enjoyed being around him, and it was just awful to hear the news about what happened.“He was one of those young men who it seemed like it took him a couple of years to develop and get the strength that he needed, like a lot of big players, but he came around and was able to help us.”Powell saw brief time in the NFL, where he switched to the offensive line, playing two seasons on the Washington Redskins' practice squad (1997-98) and one season with the Atlanta Falcons (2000). He did not participate in an NFL game.